“The 1500 was epic!” exclaimed Pete Kay as I entered Lolitia’s Market early last week. He grabbed my arm and continued, “What a race!”
The Paris Olympic men’s 1500m final Kay was referring to – so outstanding that it stands out among so many outstanding events in Paris – was indeed a race. It was an “epic” confrontation that had all the elements of an instant classic: a not-so-friendly rivalry between reigning Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and world championship gold medalist Josh Kerr; a strong, fast field; brave frontrunners; smart race strategy; and a sprint finish that anyone, runner and non-runner alike, would rejoice at.
There was also an Olympic bronze medal for Yared Nuguse of Boulder, who narrowly missed out on the gold medal won by teammate Cole Hocker. The third U.S. runner, Hobbs Kessler, finished fifth.
“It was like a horse race,” said Skyler Schlageck, On’s local technical representative, even more excited than a typical fan, since Nuguse is sponsored by On and competes for the Boulder-based On Athletic Club. Schlageck’s horse racing analogy is a good one, because it sums up how the finalists sprinted to the inside of Lane 1 at the start.
The outspoken – some say boastful – Ingebrigtsen was at the front for most of the race, trying to blunt the final sprint of Kerr and the others. The Norwegian star led the field through the first 400 meters in 54 seconds and passed the 800 meters in 1:51.
“Wow,” I thought when I saw the coverage, and maybe you felt the same way. “What’s going on here?”
What we saw “was a real 1500-meter race,” not the kind of race where you sit for three laps and then reel off, as is typical of most championship finals, said Mark Plaatjes, the 1993 World Championship marathon gold medalist. Like many of us, he was still talking about the race when I visited his shop, In Motion, days later. “You have to give Ingebrigtsen credit; he made the race.”
Ingebrigtsen’s focus on arch-rival Kerr left Hocker with the opportunity to overtake her on the inside with a windmill sprint just a few meters from the finish tape, said Hank Church, who leads Fleet Feet training groups in preparation for next month’s Boulderthon. “It’s a lesson in focusing on your own race. It’s something we can all learn from.”
Jeremiah LaDuca, a civil engineering student at Georgia Tech who trains in Boulder during the summer, said he learned the importance of cross-training while following Hocker’s career and competing with him in races. LaDuca said he “focuses on all aspects of my running,” including strength training.
LaDuca said that at his workplace in Denver, colleagues who had nothing to do with running talked about the race.
“Oh my God, the 1500 was insane,” he said, adding that Hocker’s last 100 meters took an incredible 11 seconds. “It makes me so happy to see people pursuing their dreams. Everyone was talking about the race. It was cool to see that.”
In a post-race interview on FloTrack, a beaming Nuguse said, “I really felt like I gave it my all on the track, which is the realistic goal of the Olympics. It was a really surreal moment.”
In a later interview with Citius Magazine, 25-year-old Nuguse added: “I’ve rewatched the race a few times now and I just thought, I can’t believe I did that.”
The whole Paris Olympics were cool, said Jim Miller of Berthoud, who attended the 1976 Montreal Olympics and remembers as a youngster getting to know all the members of the hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid. He has been a fan ever since and feels something special that goes beyond the individual and somehow connects us all.
“The Olympics show that it’s not just about sports, about winning and losing,” Miller said. “When we watch the track events or (US gymnast) Simon Biles on the floor exercise, we see the Olympic spirit that goes beyond the results. The Olympics show the best of humanity, and Paris showed me that the world is a place of love.”
Follow Sandrock on Instagram: @MikeSandrock.
